Winners Will Be Announced Between Nov. 19 and Nov. 21
The 2019 Championship Awards are given in five categories. Awards are voted by team management and a league-wide media panel.
The 2019 USL Championship awards will be given in five categories: goalkeeper, defender, coach, young player and most value player.
Finalists for Goalkeeper of the Year are Zac Lubin (Phoenix Rising FC), Kyle Morton (Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC) and Matt Pickens (Nashville SC).
Lubin finished tied for second in the league with 13 shutouts. Morton has had 13 shutouts. Pickens earned Championship’s Golden Glove with a 0.64 goals against average, as well as a league high – 14 shutouts.
Joe Greenspan (Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC), Neveal Hackshaw (Indy Eleven) and Oscar Jimenez (Louisville City FC) are finalists for Defender of the Year.
Greenspan earned a nomination for the second year in a row. Hacksaw was part of an Indy team that conceded a league-fewest six goals at home. Jimenez recorded seven assists, completing 1,498 passes.
The Coach of the Year finalists are Bob Lilley (Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC), Ian Russell (Reno 1868 FC) and Rick Schantz (Phoenix Rising FC).
Lilley led Pittsburgh to a first-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Russell led Reno to its best finish in the Championship’s Western Conference. In his first full season, Schantz led Rising FC to a Championship record of 24 victories.
Felipe Hernandez (Swope Park Rangers), Douglas Martinez (Real Monarchs SLC) and Cristian Parano (San Antonio FC) were all named as Young Player of the Year finalists.
Hernandez ended the season with eight goals and five assists. Martinez, who was called up to the Honduras National Team, scored 16 goals and six assists. Parano scored seven goals and six assists in the 2019 campaign.
The Most Valuable Player finalists are Solomon Asante (Phoenix Rising FC), Kenardo Forbes (Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC) and Daniel Rios (Nashville SC).
Asante is only the second player in Championship history to win both the Golden Boot and Assist Champion awards. Forbes recorded nine assists and four goals, helping the Hounds climb t the top of the Eastern Conference. Rios is the first player in Championship history to record 20 regular-season goals in back-to-back seasons.
